Integrated circuit (“IC”) packages typically comprise at least one IC die mounted on a substrate, such as a lead frame. The die and substrate are generally encapsulated in a block of protective mold compound. Electrical leads or other electrical contact surfaces that are not encapsulated in mold compound enable the IC package to be connected to other electrical circuitry such as, for example, by connecting the IC package leads to contact surfaces of a printed circuit board.
IC packages are generally formed in IC package “strips” that include a plurality of interconnected lead frames and associated dies that have been encapsulated in mold compound. The individual IC packages are separated in a process known as singulation. During singulation, a saw or laser cuts the lead frame strip along “saw streets” arranged in a rectangular grid to create the individual IC packages.
One popular type of IC package is known as a ball grid array or “BGA.” A BGA package has a grid of solder balls mounted on a substrate at the bottom of the package. To attach a BGA package to a circuit board, the solder balls are bonded under heat and pressure to the corresponding contact surfaces of the circuit board. A BGA strip is a group of integrally connected BGA substrates having dies mounted on and electrically connected to each BGA leadframe on the strip. The BGA strip further includes a block of encapsulating mold compound that covers the interconnected leadframes and dies mounted thereon except for the BGA arrays on the bottom of each of the BGA leadframes.